Mistletoe
by GhedahrianVampress
Summary: Te'ijal discovers the wonderful tradition of kissing underneath the mistletoe.


Te'ijal eyed the piece of mandrake hanging dangling from the ceiling across the room with curiosity. They had stopped for the night at the Inn in Stormbend, and although no one else seemed to notice it, she had. Why on earth would anyone hang mandrake from the ceiling like that? As far as she could figure, it was some sort of strange human custom for Aislday, the day that symbolized hope for all.

She had kept quiet for the first little while, not wanting to appear as though she was completely clueless when it came to Aislday. It was not exactly a holiday that she had ever celebrated in Ghed'ahre. The one holiday that they actually celebrated was the Festival or Ceri, which was a holiday in honor of love. Te'ijal had tried to get Galahad to go with her to the festivities many years, and had managed to drag him one year, but after that he vowed to never go again. Apparently he had seen a couple drinking blood from each others mouth's and thought it disgusting.

Finally, her curiosity got the better of her, and she decided to ask about it. "Lamb, would you happen to know why there is a piece of mandrake hanging from the ceiling?" she asked Mel, who was seated in the corner of the room, cleaning her dagger.

Mel raised a brow in confusion at her. "Uh, that's not mandrake, Te'ijal," she said.

"Well then, what is it?" Te'ijal asked. "I've never seen anything like it before."

Stella, who was standing nearby, gasped in shock, causing Te'ijal to turn and look at her. "You've never heard of mistletoe? How horrible! It's one of the cutest Aislday traditions to ever be invented!"

Mel rolled her eyes, "More like one of the most annoying."

Te'ijal glanced back at the hanging piece of greenery. That was what it was called. Mistletoe ... As far as she knew, she had never heard of such a thing. Her curiosity was at an all time high. What exactly was this mistletoe for? What did it represent, and what was this tradition that Stella boasted of and Mel complained of?

"On Aislday, people hang mistletoe from their ceilings, placing them where there is bound to be lots of people. The tradition is that whenever a couple walks directly underneath it, they have to stop and kiss each other before continuing on," Stella explained.

"Unfortunately, some people tend to take it a little too far," Mel added in. "Edward and I accidentally made the mistake of leaving the school's Aislday Party at the same time, and ended up getting stuck under it. Our classmates blocked the door and wouldn't let us leave until we kissed. Let me tell you that it was not pleasant. Edward's breath smelled worse than the sewers in Harburg."

"Hey! I heard that!" Edward exclaimed from the other side of the room.

"Pay no attention to her, Edward. Mel's just teasing you." Stella reassured him. "I don't think your breath smells bad at all."

"Thank you, Stella," Edward replied, sticking his tongue out at Mel.

Te'ijal smirked. She definitely liked the sounds of this tradition. Many amusing scenarios popped into her head. A part of her was tempted to manipulate the tradition and use it to make her travelling companions uncomfortable. She had to hold back her laughter as she imagined any one of the girls having to kiss Ulf. There was no doubt in Te'ijal's mind that they would find his breath ten times worse than Edwards.

However, as she began to hear Galahad's all too familiar footsteps approaching the Inn, a different idea popped into her head. Without a moment to spare, she quickly positioned herself directly underneath the hanging mistletoe. A moment later, Galahad stepped through the door, a bag of supplies in his hand. It was time to finally get the kiss he stubbornly refused to give her during the Festival of Ceri.

"Welcome back, husband," Te'ijal greeted him as cheerfully as she could. "Did you manage to find everything we need?"

Galahad faltered in his steps when he heard his wife's greeting, the bag of supplies slipping from his hand to the floor. Something was definitely going on. He knew that oddly cheerful tone of hers. He had heard it plenty of times before. She only used it when she wanted something from him, and usually that meant trouble for him.

"What do you want, wife?" he asked.

"Oh, nothing at all. I just need you to come over here for a moment," she replied.

Galahad hesitated for a moment, as he tried to figure out what she might be planning, but after a while he gave up, and with a sigh, he started towards her. However, the moment that he reached her, she grabbed him, wrapping her arms around his neck, holding him tightly in place.

"Look up," she told him.

He did as she requested, and to his horror, he saw that they were directly underneath a piece of mistletoe. Had there been any blood left in his face, it probably would have drained away at that moment. So, that was what she was up to. He tried to pry her hands from around his neck, but she refused to budge. He was stuck.

"Oh come now, husband. It's just one little kiss. It won't hurt," Te'ijal insisted.

"You said the same thing on our wedding day right before you bit me!" Galahad exclaimed.

Te'ijal giggled. "Yes, I did, which means you have nothing to worry about now. You are already a vampire, so I have no need to bite you again."

Galahad groaned. "Fine, but only because it's Aislday."

Then, without further ado, he reached out and claimed her lips in what he intended to be a simple, quick kiss. Te'ijal had other ideas. She let out a small moan of pleasure as she pulled him in even closer to her, prolonging the kiss for much longer. Galahad considered resisting, but a part of him didn't want to. Though he would never admit it, deep down he was enjoying it just as much as she was.

When they finally broke apart, Te'ijal smiled at him. "Thank you, crumpet. You have pleased me."

"Good. Now, let me put away the supplies I bought."

"Of course."


End file.
